The Decision
by 13rings
Summary: This is a fic when Lance and Keith are taken down during a Galra fight and one of them gets seriously injured. This has Klance and Angst... loads and loads of angst. There may be eventual fluff because I'm a sucker for happy endings ;)
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

He wasn't meant to die

I'm the one who was meant for that hit.

I'm the one who's supposed to be dead…..

* * *

It was just another mission; a nearby planet had sent out a distress signal. It was fair enough, another day without a Galra attack then we would have become suspicious. The past few earth days have been full of training and team exercises so we were all really refreshed. The alarm went off and we all rushed to our lions, teasing and laughing on the way: we were ready for this.

We were down at this planet, pidge had landed aiming for the galra base to help the rebels hack into the Galra data base, Shiro went down with her to give her some cover. Hunk acted as a distraction (" Guuuuys come on! Why cant keith go?He's really fast and can dodge much better than I can.. Come on keith pleeeeeease ?"

"Sorry Hunk, no can do." keith smirked, with his adorable smirk, really sweet, playful smirk….)

Anyways, Hunk, Keith and I were all shooting at the galra mini ships as I like to call them. And they started to lead us out of the planet's atmosphere, we thought we were gaining on them so we speed up, cheering. We weren't gaining on them. We rushed towards the planets moons, there was three of them. As we raced around the second moon we saw them.

There were at least a thousand of them; it was a Galra fleet full of huge battle ships with laser guns and cannons. "Holy Quiznak!" i screamed.

"Retreat ! Retreat !" Keith shouted. But it was too late, they opened full fire on our lions and swarmed us. "AGH! Help ! Help! Mayday! Mayday!" Hunk yelled. "Hunk!" i cried out. He was spiralling out of control his lion heading towards the third grey moon. I tried to go after him but was cut off by another blast from the laser cannon of the Galra ship which was closing in from behind me. Soon there was a large wall of ships cutting keith and i off from the planet and Hunk. "Shit" muttered keith.

There was some more really close calls before the fatal shot. It came out of the corner of my eye. It was a beam of a laser heading straight towards me. "LANCE!"

Keith's lion crashed into me just before the beam hit me.

"AGHHGAHHHHNNNHHHAGHH"

"KEITH !"

I tried to steer my lion top try and help him but the cannon hit had over run my controls and we were spiralling out of control out into the nearby asteroid field.

"CRASH!"

Our Lions, tangled together had crashed onto a Large asteroid and the heads were wedged into this sort of cave. Blue's lights and controls were off, i tried to move some of the switches to see if there was any difference. There wasn't. Qiznak. Okay, Okay i took a deep breath, what do I do now? Think Lance, what do we do in training? Call for help, get all survivors together, find a way out. Easy…. Quiznak. Keith. I scrambled out of my lion, forcing open red's mouth; He was also not responding. I rushed to the cockpit and had to brace myself at the scene I saw. Keith was slumped, collapsed on the controls multiple gashes all over his body from the shattered screens. The smell of heated electricity still in the air. I rushed towards him, avoiding the wires bursting from Red's panels. I turn him over, begging, pleading for some sign of life.

He was breathing. Thank God. I looked around, it was obviously dangerous, a spark could cause a fire at any moment. I carefully cradled Keith in my arms and brought him into the kind-of cave. There was barely way out except a small gap just big enough for me to fit through, if I tried hard enough i was sure that i would be able to get us through.

"Shiro?" i call through the comms. There's a large crash and the light that is coming through small opening of the cave dims. Judging by the lack of concern coming from the approaching person it was safe to assume that wasnt a Paladin. I quickly grabbed Keith and brought him as far away from entrance as possible. "SHIRO!"

"Lan-...anc….? ….Are ….you..?"

"Shiro we need help! Keiths hurt and i don't know what to do! Shiro we need a healing pod stat!"

"..ance… bac..ship….op….ing.. po..tal...Wher…..you..?

"NO! Please!"

I Glance down at Keith. His eyes are half closed and glazed over. Fuck. no. please. "Keith! Keith come on Buddy! Please!"

"Lance?" it was a whisper, barely even a

gasp.

"Keith!" i sobbed "Hold on, just hold on please"

"Lance, it's okay"

"NO! It's not Okay! I can't just let you die!"

His face was raked in pain, blood was seeping through his injuries, slowly drenching his uniform. He gave a small sad smile, " I don't think you have a choice…"

There was tears pouring down my face, i couldn't control them, "I'm going to try." I promised. His eyes were closed his breathing heavy and laboured, barely there at all. "Keith! I promise do you hear me ?! I promised !"

There was silence.

No. Nononononononononoo. He was breathing just a few seconds ago. No. NO! please ….

" Shiro" I called, desperate.

" Help. Please…."

Before I could try again a voice was magnified through the cave, parts of the ceiling crumbled as it boomed out.

" BLUE PALADIN! YOU ARE ALONE. THE OTHER PALADINS HAVE FLED WITH THE ALTEAN SHIP." It echoed around the walls

"THE ONLY PALADIN YOU ARE LEFT WITH IS WOUNDED. ON THE TERMS OF YOUR SURRENDER AND COMPLETE COOPERATION WE SWEAR TO HELP THE RED PALADIN. YOU HAVE 1 OF YOUR EARTH MINUTES."


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

He wasn't meant to die

I'm the one who was meant for that hit.

I'm the one who's supposed to be dead…..

* * *

It was just another mission; a nearby planet had sent out a distress signal. It was fair enough, another day without a Galra attack then we would have become suspicious. The past few earth days have been full of training and team exercises so we were all really refreshed. The alarm went off and we all rushed to our lions, teasing and laughing on the way: we were ready for this.

We were down at this planet, pidge had landed aiming for the galra base to help the rebels hack into the Galra data base, Shiro went down with her to give her some cover. Hunk acted as a distraction (" Guuuuys come on! Why cant keith go?He's really fast and can dodge much better than I can.. Come on keith pleeeeeease ?"

"Sorry Hunk, no can do." keith smirked, with his adorable smirk, really sweet, playful smirk….)

Anyways, Hunk, Keith and I were all shooting at the galra mini ships as I like to call them. And they started to lead us out of the planet's atmosphere, we thought we were gaining on them so we speed up, cheering. We weren't gaining on them. We rushed towards the planets moons, there was three of them. As we raced around the second moon we saw them.

There were at least a thousand of them; it was a Galra fleet full of huge battle ships with laser guns and cannons. "Holy Quiznak!" i screamed.

"Retreat ! Retreat !" Keith shouted. But it was too late, they opened full fire on our lions and swarmed us. "AGH! Help ! Help! Mayday! Mayday!" Hunk yelled. "Hunk!" i cried out. He was spiralling out of control his lion heading towards the third grey moon. I tried to go after him but was cut off by another blast from the laser cannon of the Galra ship which was closing in from behind me. Soon there was a large wall of ships cutting keith and i off from the planet and Hunk. "Shit" muttered keith.

There was some more really close calls before the fatal shot. It came out of the corner of my eye. It was a beam of a laser heading straight towards me. "LANCE!"

Keith's lion crashed into me just before the beam hit me.

"AGHHGAHHHHNNNHHHAGHH"

"KEITH !"

I tried to steer my lion top try and help him but the cannon hit had over run my controls and we were spiralling out of control out into the nearby asteroid field.

"CRASH!"

Our Lions, tangled together had crashed onto a Large asteroid and the heads were wedged into this sort of cave. Blue's lights and controls were off, i tried to move some of the switches to see if there was any difference. There wasn't. Qiznak. Okay, Okay i took a deep breath, what do I do now? Think Lance, what do we do in training? Call for help, get all survivors together, find a way out. Easy…. Quiznak. Keith. I scrambled out of my lion, forcing open red's mouth; He was also not responding. I rushed to the cockpit and had to brace myself at the scene I saw. Keith was slumped, collapsed on the controls multiple gashes all over his body from the shattered screens. The smell of heated electricity still in the air. I rushed towards him, avoiding the wires bursting from Red's panels. I turn him over, begging, pleading for some sign of life.

He was breathing. Thank God. I looked around, it was obviously dangerous, a spark could cause a fire at any moment. I carefully cradled Keith in my arms and brought him into the kind-of cave. There was barely way out except a small gap just big enough for me to fit through, if I tried hard enough i was sure that i would be able to get us through.

"Shiro?" i call through the comms. There's a large crash and the light that is coming through small opening of the cave dims. Judging by the lack of concern coming from the approaching person it was safe to assume that wasnt a Paladin. I quickly grabbed Keith and brought him as far away from entrance as possible. "SHIRO!"

"Lan-...anc….? ….Are ….you..?"

"Shiro we need help! Keiths hurt and i don't know what to do! Shiro we need a healing pod stat!"

"..ance… bac..ship….op….ing.. po..tal...Wher…..you..?

"NO! Please!"

I Glance down at Keith. His eyes are half closed and glazed over. Fuck. no. please. "Keith! Keith come on Buddy! Please!"

"Lance?" it was a whisper, barely even a

gasp.

"Keith!" i sobbed "Hold on, just hold on please"

"Lance, it's okay"

"NO! It's not Okay! I can't just let you die!"

His face was raked in pain, blood was seeping through his injuries, slowly drenching his uniform. He gave a small sad smile, " I don't think you have a choice…"

There was tears pouring down my face, i couldn't control them, "I'm going to try." I promised. His eyes were closed his breathing heavy and laboured, barely there at all. "Keith! I promise do you hear me ?! I promised !"

There was silence.

No. Nononononononononoo. He was breathing just a few seconds ago. No. NO! please ….

" Shiro" I called, desperate.

" Help. Please…."

Before I could try again a voice was magnified through the cave, parts of the ceiling crumbled as it boomed out.

" BLUE PALADIN! YOU ARE ALONE. THE OTHER PALADINS HAVE FLED WITH THE ALTEAN SHIP." It echoed around the walls

"THE ONLY PALADIN YOU ARE LEFT WITH IS WOUNDED. ON THE TERMS OF YOUR SURRENDER AND COMPLETE COOPERATION WE SWEAR TO HELP THE RED PALADIN. YOU HAVE 1 OF YOUR EARTH MINUTES."


	3. Chapter 2 ( updated )

One minute. One minute to decide. To decide what ? Whether to save myself and cause Voltron to be one paladin short, or sacrifice myself to give Keith a chance at surviving. My stomach twists and i can feel my guts trying to escape from my mouth pushing at my throat. I gave a small hollow, humorless laugh. There was no choice. There was no decision.

Keith would never know, but if I had to pick my life over his, there would never be a hesitation. Always him. It's always been him. At the Garrison, trying to live up to his name, always being told " You are never and will never be as good as him". I understand now: I'm worthless in comparison to him. If anyone was given the choice there wouldn't be a second guess. Hell. I can't even make a choice. It's always going to be Keith. Never me. Always Keith. No one has use for a half ass, second rate pilot whose only assets are giving unwanted pickup lines that just annoy people. I would pick Keith every single time.

" BLUE PALADIN. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO SURRENDER YOURSELF AND YOUR FELLOW PALADIN YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO EXIT WITH COMPLETE SUBMISSION. THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL WE HELP THE RED PALADIN."

I give a little dry sob, before carefully lifting Keith off the ground. His eyelids flutter but aside from that there's no other sign of life. I reach the small opening, I can see the ground on the other side, glaring with the spotlights to ensure every movement that I make is seen and tracked. My breaths come out shaky and in shudders. Im choking on the air that I'm trying to breathe in. Everything is so still. Oh so very still. I can do this. I look down at him, his black hair inky from the blood it's soaked in. His face so laxed he could almost be sleeping if it wasn't for the underlying pain which lay tense beneath his face. A lone factor, showing the one life i'm fighting for. I take a step forward, still looking at him. Every step I take after i keep looking at him, he's my lifeline, an anchor to keep me from running away, a reminder of why I'm doing this. I only look away when i hear the buzz and click of guns and lasers being trained on our bodies.

There are easily 100 Galran soldiers gathered either side all ready to blast me to pieces. I take a shuddering breath. A clear harsh voice cuts clean across the miles between, "Right then Blue Paladin, let's get this over and done with." the comment draws a dark, deep chuckle from the surrounding soldiers and I hold back a glare. " I want you on your knees with your hands on your head now !" I painstakingly lay Keith on the ground, is blood now seeping into the dust of the moon's surface. It's printed in my mind, a forever present reminder of why I'm doing this. "Come on Paladin, is it so hard? Hands. Up" he drawled. I lifted my arms, no energy left, just defeat. "Higher!" I dont have the energy to be sarcastic anymore. I just need Keith to be okay.

The next moments are a blur. Another general appears. I have handcuffs on. I'm yanked to my feet. I notice the rows and rows of groomed soldiers, standing in perfect sequence, drilled and adjusted till the stand still, robotic and grey. Unmoving and untouchable. It chills me to the bone, the deep breath I take does nothing but tell me how I scared I am. In, out in and out. Its shuddering and shaky I try to wrap my arms around me to try and pierce my shattered strength together again.

We enter the flagship and we're taken to the main receiving area.

Wheres Keith?

Shit.

Where is he?

"Where's Keith?'


	4. Chapter 4

I'm struggling, thrashing, straining against the cuffs behind my back. The cuffs are cutting into my wrists, threatening to break my skin. Do I care? No. Where is he? Where's Keith?

Shit. Quiznak. Purple arms are pushing me back, restraining as a push struggle against them.

"KEITH"

Everything's a blur, meaning less purple hallways spin around me. Loud voices, whirl over head as I'm tossed between the walls and the floor. I tug of war between of desperation, power. Panic.

"KEITH"

I'm slammed onto the floor. My heartbeat is fluttering and beating against my chest. Adrenaline courses through my veins, my eyes are flickering round. Scanning for a clue. Aching and praying for red to flash into my vision.

" Now now blue paladin…." drawled a sultry voice from behind me.

Pinned like a bug on the floor, my eyes zoom onto the movement of a galra behind me. He stalks into my prevision, silver locks float behind him, swaying as he draws closer.

Golden eyes flash, and he holds a long sword with a curved tip and the end.

I blink and the blade tip plants itself millimeters from my face. A wicked sharp weapon glinting in the purple light. "IF you behave. I will take you to your precious paladin. Understand?"

Too nervous to speak, I jerk my head in one curt motion. He takes his blade and the guards lift me up, grabbing my arms, practically dislodging them from their sockets as I'm yanked forward. My wrists still strapped behind my back.

We enter a surgical room.

"Keith!" I sob, lunging forward. Only to be constrained by clenched claws.

"Aww, little Blue DOES have feelings for Red. Who would have thought." He taunts, smirking as he paces to the other side of the metal slab that Keith lays on. I ignore him as a frantically scan over Keith, desperate to see change to his deathly situation.

There's tubes of liquid connected by a wire in his arm, giving him medication? There's bandages wrapped around his chest and back, crisscrossing to prevent blood loss, even now there's blood crusting the edges, slowly seeping through and staining the folds as they spiral round him. At least he's breathing. I remind myself, at least he's still alive.

My breaths are calming. The clarity of my mind returns, it is easier to remain calm when I can see him, I can keep him safe if I can see him.

"Right Paladin, let's discuss your partake in the Arena"

I turn to face the Galra with silver hair.

"What?"

" You -" he states, as if talking to a child, " -are going to take part in the Arena just as the Champion did before you."

I'm too stunned to react, I'm emotionally drained by the fear that his statement throws me completely off guard.

" I'm sorry, who are you? And-"

" I. am Prince Lotor." he interrupts me with a cold look gracing his face.

" Well, Prince Lotor, what makes you think that I'm going to fight in your bloody war circus?" I'm indignant as well as particularly frustrated.

His eyes narrow in a flash.

" Oh, it's quite simple really." he murmurs.

He whirls around and yanks the pulsing tubes from their socket in the ships wall.

At that moment, Keith jerks.

His limbs flail.

His chest heaves as he chokes life a dying fish on land.

" 10 ticks until he dies Paladin" the prince smirks. " What do you say, are you going to fight."

I'm frozen in shock.

Keith lets out a curdled scream before getting aruptedly cut of as dark blood trickles out of his mouth.

" six. five..." Lotor taunts.

" Yes! I will, you already know its a yes. Just connect him back again PLEASE!"

"On your knees Blue"

I crumple to my knees

"please." I beg.


End file.
